I wouldn't buy one either, but you listed those specs as if they are impressive. Hell, STis and Evos run very similar numbers for half the price. You seem to already have your mind made up, so just roll with it.
I have an SRT4 right now, and its not about the speed its about the handling and not just straight line speed. and i dont have my mind made up, it was kind of made up till all you guys slapped me down
Also, http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/ctd/1741476150.html Half of what you are planning on paying.
I don't know enough about the new ones. I always wanted a Corvette when I was young 1956-1970's. I got drafted just before I was going to buy a used 1957 Corvette which was one of my favorite. When I got out of the service I bought a brand new 1970 green conv Corvette 454. Walked up the Fields Chevy at the time and it was on the showroom floor. I asked if I could test drive it and they wouldn't listen to me until I showed them I could pay cash for the car. Saved almost all my salary from the Army and was in Vietnam for 15 months with extra pay and didn't have anything to spend money on. I still love almost all the Corvette's from 1953-1970 and a few in the 80's. I haven't keep up on the new ones and I don't even think they are that good looking. I did look at a mag about the Z06 I think the spec's were pretty impressive if you love fast cars which I do. I'm not trying to talk you into a Corvette and everyone likes something different but back in my days it was different then now and American cars were great with all the muscle cars etc.
I have to say it is a nice looking car even though I'm not a Porsche fan. If you really going to do it I would for sure look at something used like in the link. It is almost like new for half the price.
I went through my Porsche phase. When I got back to the States, I felt like I had been doing nothing but saving money and not having fun. I found a 1999 911 Carrera--ironically in Denver (before I moved here)--bought it, flew to CO to pick it up and drive it home. By Idaho I had buyers remorse. It was a fun car to drive and I held on to it for a few years, but mostly it sat in my garage because I felt like too much of a douche driving one around at my age. God saw fit to give me a small penis; driving a Porsche was just advertising the fact.
I forgot to add... It'll cost you less than the $4K you want to put down, and you should pay the $700/mo to pay off your mortgage faster.
Starting with a 60k figure, that's $5k/month. Take out $1k for taxes and you're at 4.25k after taxes maybe. You're a fool if you're not putting 5-6% in a 401k or IRA, so let's call it $4k a month. Then take off the $1.7k mortgage and you're at $2.3k/month. $700 a month is a big chunk of that remainder. In fairness, I'm not a car guy, but I'd get a lot more enjoyment out of getting something cheaper and spending more money on going places and doing things. A couple hundred a month can get you lots of good meals, good booze, concerts, hotels, travel, sports, etc. Lots of options, and lots of options you don't have if you lock yourself into spending that money on car. A cool car is entertaining, but at least to me, it's entertaining for where it can take you, and where you can go is going to be limited by how much your car is costing you. So, in a nutshell, I'd buy less car and use the money to live the high life in other ways. There's still plenty of cool cars you can buy for a fraction of the price. Like I say, I'm not a car guy, but I have to say I'm impressed I can go out and buy a Mustang with 300+ horsepower and 30+ mpg for only a little over $20k. Probably just as much fun for 1/3rd the price. Which means you can go out and have lots more fun in other ways.
Just buy a whole lot of cocaine and be done with it. It's more fun and you won't care when people point and laugh at you. barfo
Do you have the skill to use the handling? Have you been to the track, taken an SCCA or Cascade Sports car club driving school to know? If not - may I suggest taking your SRT4 to one - and seeing how far you are from using what this car can do? On June 4 Cascade is having a driver training and HPDE class - http://www.cascadesportscarclub.org/ - do it. Honestly, you have to be very, very good to really take advantage of that Porsche as anything more than penile extension - unless you are Fernando Alonso's long lost cousin - the handling thing is just an excuse. Heck, if you want handling, you do not but a Porsche, you buy a Lotus... At the end of the day - for most of us, mere mortals, sports cars are about the experience, not about the handling and being able to use it properly to it's full extent. Heck, I had a Lotus and won several regional autocross class events with it, I won some dirt rallycross class events with my old BMW - and I have no illusions about actually being able to truly scratch what it (or the Porsche, of even my first race car - a Miata) can do as far as handling is concerned... While I never drove a Cayman, I got to try a Boxster and it is a fun, fun car, but as far as an "experience" and sense of occasion while driving it - a used 911 for $15K is more of an experience and occasion imho... Heck, the only reasonable way to not lose your shirt on sports cars is to go the opposite way - get into older, classic sports cars that will never depreciate - sure, there is maintenance that will cost a bit more, and when it comes down to it - your SRT4 will be faster around a race track by a capable driver than an old car - but it will not be anywhere near as much fun to actually drive it around that track fast, it will not make the same glorious noise, it will not attract all the attention that a nice old car will - and it will not give you the same kind of satisfaction when you actually get it around a race track fast. In other words - buy a 70s Alfa Romeo or a 80s Porsche... that's a proper way to enjoy unique cars without losing tons of money.
